Europe's response to the attacks on New York and Washington has included a determined effort to increase co-operation against terrorism. The EU has now agreed a definition of the term and is close to agreeing a common arrest warrant for a schedule of offences, with only Italy holding it up. The issue will be decided at the European Council in Laeken, outside Brussels, this weekend.
Ireland has secured important concessions in these talks, reflecting the distinctive legal and constitutional culture of this State. The European arrest warrant will apply here only to bring a person to trial or to execute a custodial sentence, not as elsewhere in the EU to conduct an investigation. Some offences will be more closely defined to accord with Irish legislation. These were significant changes in the proposals, introduced as an alternative to excluding Ireland from them, which might now occur with Italy. They illustrate how much can be at stake in such EU bargaining.
The former Attorney-General, Mr John Rogers, has used the issue of a common arrest warrant to criticise Oireachtas procedures for scrutinising EU legislation, following up on influential points he made during the debate on the Nice Treaty last summer. The Oireachtas has failed, he argues, to impose its influence on decisions made through the participation of ministers and officials at the Brussels council meetings where EU legislation is made. He suggests that this " must be described as the most singular failure of any institution of this State since its foundation". He calls for radical reforms in Oireachtas procedures to remedy this democratic deficit, including the possibility of electing special members to monitor and track EU legislation and negotiations.
Mr Rogers's points are well taken, even if - unusually - the Oireachtas discusses the anti-terrorism measures with the attention they merit. The role of national parliaments in the EU will be addressed by the convention on the future of Europe to be set up at the Laeken summit. They are centrally concerned with democratic legitimacy, an issue thrown into prominance by the Irish electorate's rejection of the Nice Treaty. But the criticisms he makes are essentially domestic, concerning the normally extremely inadequate Irish procedures to ensure proper political accountability of the executive branch in EU affairs. They must be put alongside the woeful performance by most politicians in explaining EU legislation and engaging citizens with the public issues involved.
Mr Peter Sutherland's warning last night that unless this problem is tackled urgently there is a real danger that Ireland will be dangerously marginalised within the EU, is a valuable wake-up call.